Ederson: Changing the Rules of Goalkeeping

Manchester City’s Goalkeeper Ederson is setting his stall out for a new kind of goalkeeping.

This week has seen the passing of William Goldman, one of the great movie screenwriters of the 20th century and remembered warmly by me as the writer behind one of my favourite movies of all time. A movie which always make me think of Ederson for some reason. Its not as though there is any likeness towards him but its just a simple matter of the metre of those syllables in his name making a connection for me.

Whenever I see the full name of Ederson written in documents and articles, it always reminds me of that scene in the movie The Princess Bride. For his full name is Ederson Santana de Moraes and I always sense the next line will be “You killed my father, prepare  to die!”

There is I guess something incalculably cool about Ederson. He is positively arctic in his demeanour. Unfazed by the attackers approaching at speed. He will be untroubled and will instead use every nano second in selecting his spot for a perfect pass. I said earlier in the season that he is so collected and calm that if he went on TVs Most Haunted he would just punch ghosts. That still stands.

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He is a goalkeeper who enjoys nutmegging other players. But sometimes that is not enough for him. He wants to control the ball on his head, and nutmeg the attacker at the same time. Its clear  for all of us Manchester City fans that he is as mad as a box of frogs.

He has 7 Premier League clean sheets and an assist in these opening 12 games of the season. That is not a bad return for a goalkeeper.

His calm and collected manner and his vision have been the things which have marked him out. If it was a Top Trumps card he would get a 10 for both. But it is his shop stopping and shot saving which have been the less noticeable parts of his game. It is clear that is not because he is lacking in those departments, but rather because as Manchester City’s goalkeeper he simply doesn’t get much chance to utilise those skills.

Which brings us back to that previous attribute we have described: being as mad as a box of frogs. We all have friends who have a look about them that dissuades thugs from picking on them. Ederson has this in spades. He has a tattoo on his neck for goodness sake. Probably got that in a Brazilian high security prison, before escaping.

The part of Edersons game I love most though is linked to all the above. It is fantastically enabled by all of the other skills, but is most linked to that madness. It is what I call Bored Ederson. Its that part of the game where he just decides he has had enough of being a spectator so just decides to get involved. By crossing the half way line or committing a pointless foul just so he gets chance to save a penalty.

All great goalkeepers have a maverick sensibility but Ederson seems to be positively dripping in it. Of course, his performances and unique way of goalkeeping are now attracting a whole range of young kids who are looking at playing in goal. On Saturday and Sunday mornings I see boys and girls wanting to go in goal nowadays not only in the hope of acrobatically stopping shots, but to have the opportunity to nutmeg a defender or control the ball with their head. The real legacy of Ederson is dragging a whole group of young kids away from their tablet computers and playstations and onto the football pitch. That can only be a good thing.